Johnny Tillotson
Encyclopedia
Johnny Tillotson is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored 9 top-ten hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 on the pop, country and adult contemporary billboard charts including "Poetry In Motion
Poetry in Motion (song)
"Poetry in Motion" is a UK number-one single of 1961, recorded by Johnny Tillotson.The song was written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony , who said that the inspiration for it came from looking up from their work and seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk...

" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'". He also sang "Yellow Bird", an adaptation of the Haitian song, Johnny's version is quoted as being a favorite of the former head of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,
because he and his wife had enjoyed it during their honeymoon. (BBC Interview)

Biography

He is the son of Doris and Jack Tillotson, (Jack owned a small service station on the corner of 6th and Pearl in Jacksonville, he also acted as the station's mechanic], at the age of 9 he was sent to Palatka, Florida
Palatka, Florida
Palatka is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,033 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,796. It is the county seat of Putnam County and includes East Palatka. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka...

. to take care of his grandmother and returned to Jacksonville each summer to be with his parents when his brother Dan would go to his grandmother. He began to perform at local functions as a child, and by the time he was at Palatka Senior High School he had developed a reputation as a talented singer. He became a regular on the Toby Dowdy regional TV show in Jacksonville, and then had his own TV show on WDGA-TV
WTLV
WTLV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Jacksonville, Florida. The station broadcasts a digital signal on VHF channel 13. The station is owned by Gannett as part of a duopoly with the area's ABC affiliate, WJXX. The two stations share studios located on East Adams Street in downtown near...

. In 1957, while studying at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

, a local disc jockey, Bob Norris sent a tape of Johnny's singing to the Pet Milk talent contest, where he was chosen as one of the six National finalists, this gave him the opportunity to perform in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, on WSM the Grand Ole Opry
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...

, which led Lee Rosenberg a Nashville publisher to take a tape to Archie Bleyer
Archie Bleyer
Archie Bleyer was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive.-Early life:He was born in the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens. He began playing the piano when he was only seven years old...

, owner of the independent Cadence Records
Cadence Records
Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952...

. Bleyer signed Tillotson to a three-year contract, and issued his first single, "Dreamy Eyes" / "Well I'm Your Man" in September 1958. Both songs had been written by Tillotson, and both made the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, "Dreamy Eyes" peaking at # 63. After graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in Journalism and Communications, Tillotson moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to pursue his music career.

From late 1959, a succession of singles - "True True Happiness," "Why Do I Love You So," and a double-sided single covering
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 the R&B hits "Earth Angel
Earth Angel
"Earth Angel " is an American doo-wop song, originally released by The Penguins in 1954 on the Dootone label , as the B-side to "Hey Señorita." The song became a major hit for The Crew-Cuts in 1955, reaching the Billboard charts on January 29, 1955. It peaked at #3 on the Disk Jockey chart, #8 on...

" and "Pledging My Love
Johnny Ace
Johnny Ace , born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound....

" - all reached the bottom half of the Hot 100. His biggest success came with his sixth single, the up-tempo "Poetry in Motion
Poetry in Motion (song)
"Poetry in Motion" is a UK number-one single of 1961, recorded by Johnny Tillotson.The song was written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony , who said that the inspiration for it came from looking up from their work and seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk...

", written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony, and recorded in Nashville with session musicians including saxophonist Boots Randolph
Boots Randolph
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit, "Yakety Sax"...

 and pianist Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...

. Released in September 1960, it went to # 2 on the Hot 100 in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and # 1 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in January 1961. On Bleyer's advice, Tillotson focused primarily on his recording career, but also appeared on television and began to be featured as a teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...

 in magazines. His follow-up record, "Jimmy's Girl," reached # 25 in the US charts and # 43 in the UK; after that, "Without You" returned him to the US Top Ten but failed to make the UK charts. He also toured widely as part of Dick Clark's Cavalcade Of Stars.

Early in 1962, Tillotson recorded a song he had written himself, "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'," inspired by the terminal illness of his father. It became one of his biggest hits, reaching # 3 in the US pop chart and becoming the first of his records to make the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 charts, where it peaked at # 4. It earned him his first Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nomination, for Best Country & Western Recording, and was later recorded by over 100 performers including Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 and Billy Joe Royal
Billy Joe Royal
Billy Joe Royal is an American singer.-Biography:Born in Valdosta and raised in Marietta in 1942, Royal became a local star at Savannah, Georgia's Bamboo Ranch in the 1950s and 1960s...

, whose version was a country hit in 1988. Tillotson then recorded an album, It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin, on which he covered several country standards including Hank Locklin
Hank Locklin
Lawrence Hankins Locklin , better known as Hank Locklin, was an American country music singer-songwriter...

's "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," which also became hit singles. He continued to record both country-flavored and pop songs in 1963, and "You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" and its follow-up, the Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

 song "Funny How Time Slips Away," both made the Hot 100. He also appeared in the 1963 movie Just for Fun
Just for Fun
Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary is a humorous autobiography of Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, co-written with David Diamond. The book explains Linus' view of himself, the free software movement and the development of Linux.Linus's contribution to the...

.

With the demise of the Cadence label, he formed his own production company and moved to MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

, starting with his version of the recent country charted #1 song by Ernest Ashworth, "Talk Back Trembling Lips," reached # 7 in January 1964 on Billboard's Hot 100. He earned his second Grammy nomination for "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965, which reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. He also sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...

 television comedy Gidget
Gidget
Gidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...

. While his fortunes waned with changing musical tastes in the late 1960s, he continued to record, before moving to California in 1968. Besides concert and recording he also appeared in several films. He appeared in the 1966 camp comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 The Fat Spy
The Fat Spy
The Fat Spy is a 1966 Z movie that attempts to parody teenage beach party films. It was filmed at Cape Coral, Florida. It is featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Briefly released to theaters in 1966, it was rarely seen until the 1990s, when it was released to the public...

 starring Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...

, which was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46). He also appeared in "Just For Fun" a British music film, the Japanese movie "Namida Kun Sayonara" after his number 1 Japanese hit of the same name and the Made for TV "The Call of the Wild".

In the 1970s, he recorded for the Amos, Buddha
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...

, Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 and United Artists
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...

 labels. He also performed in concerts, appearing in theaters, at State Fairs and Festivals, and in major hotels in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

 and elsewhere.

In the early 1980s he charted briefly with "Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone" on Reward Records and it was during the 80's that his hits South East Asia had him appearing in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand on a regular basis along with tours in Japan and Hong Kong. In 1990 he signed with Atlantic records where he again charted briefly with "Bim Bam Boom."

In May 1991 his 22 year old daughter Kelly was killed in a car accident which devastated Johnny as well as his surviving son and family.

Johnny recorded for Charity in 1990's several Christmas songs with Freddy Cannon and Brian Hyland for the Children's Miracle network, produced by Michael Lloyd. "Come On A Sleigh Ride With Me" written by Michael is a new Christmas favorite. He also recorded with Tommy Roe and Brian Hyland, again for Michael Lloyd for Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer The Movie (1998), "We Can Make It."

In 2006 he was honored by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications with the Alumni of Distinction award. At that time less than one hundred persons had been so honored.

After a decade long absence in 2010 Johnny released a single "Not Enough" which is a tribute to the Military, Police, Fire and all uniformed personnel of the United States. It reached # 1 on the Indie country chart and the top 25 on the New Music weekly charts and was also a breakout single on the Music Row chart in Nashville. Johnny continues to write and perform in concert.

On March 23, 2011 Johnny Tillotson was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. This is the highest honor that the State of Florida bestows on an individual citizen. Only 48 others have been so honored to date. These plaques are on permanent display in the State Capitol.]]

Albums

Year Album US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

1959 This Is Johnny Tillotson
1960 Johnny Tillotson (EP)
1962 It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'
It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin' (album)
It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin' is an album by Johnny Tillotson. It was released to capitalize on the success of Tillotson's hit of the same name...

8
1963 You Can Never Stop Me Loving You
1964 Talk Back Trembling Lips 48
The Tillotson Touch
She Understands Me 148
1965 That's My Style
Johnny Tillotson Sings
1966 No Love at All
The Christmas Touch
Johnny Tillotson Sings Tillotson
1967 Here I Am
1969 Tears on My Pillow
Tears on My Pillow (Johnny Tillotson album)
Tears on My Pillow was Johnny Tillotson's first album in two years, released by Amos Records.The title track, a cover version of Little Anthony and the Imperials' 1958 doo-wop hit, was released as a single the same year of the album's release; neither the single nor the album charted...

1970 Johnny Tillotson
1977 Johnny Tillotson
2009 Victoria's The Little Merboy

Compilations

Year Album US
1962 Johnny Tillotson's Best 120
1968 The Best of Johnny Tillotson
1972 The Very Best of Johnny Tillotson
1977 Greatest
1984 Scrapbook
1990 All the Early Hits - and More!!!!

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

US R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

US Country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

US AC
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...

CAN UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

1958 "Dreamy Eyes" / "Well I'm Your Man"* 63 / 87* Johnny Tillotson (EP)
"I'm Never Gonna Kiss You" (with Genevieve
Genevieve
St Genevieve , in Latin Sancta Genovefa, from Germanic keno and wefa , is the patron saint of Paris in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition...

)
Single only
1959 "True True Happiness" 54 Johnny Tillotson (EP)
1960 "Why Do I Love You So" 42
"Earth Angel" / "Pledging My Love"* 57 / 63* This Is Johnny Tillotson
1961 "Poetry in Motion
Poetry in Motion (song)
"Poetry in Motion" is a UK number-one single of 1961, recorded by Johnny Tillotson.The song was written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony , who said that the inspiration for it came from looking up from their work and seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk...

"
2 27 1
"Jimmy's Girl" 25 43
"Without You" 7 Johnny Tillotson's Best
1962 "Dreamy Eyes" (re-issue) 35
"It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'" 3 6 4 31 It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin
"Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On
Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On
"Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On" is Country-And-Western song written and recorded by Hank Locklin. The song met success and made it to hit No. 5 on the charts, and became a standard for the Nashville sound. It has been covered by both Pop and Country Artists.Locklin first released the song in...

"
17 11 5 21
"What'll I Do?" 106
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" 89
"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)" 24 8 41
1963 "Out of My Mind" 24 11 34 Greatest
"You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" 18 4 Judy, Judy, Judy
"Talk Back Trembling Lips
Talk Back Trembling Lips
"Talk Back Trembling Lips" is a 1963 song first recorded by Ernest Ashworth. The song became the most successful of Ernest Ashworth's career, becoming his only No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that October. The song spent 35 weeks on the country chart. The song also bubbled...

"
7 6 Talk Back Trembling Lips
"Funny How Time Slips Away" 50 16 It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin
1964 "I'm a Worried Guy" 37 Talk Back Trembling Lips
"Please Don't Go Away" 112
"I Rise, I Fall" 37 The Tillotson Touch
"Worry" 45 5 36
"She Understands Me" 31 4 25 She Understands Me
1965 "Angel" 51 33 Johnny Tillotson Sings
"Then I'll Count Again" 86 - That's My Style
"Heartaches by the Number" 35 4 14
"Our World" 70 23 Johnny Tillotson Sings
1966 "I Never Loved You Anyway"
"Country Boy" Johnny Tillotson Sings Tillotson
"What Am I Gonna Do" No Love at All
"Open Up Your Heart" Single only
"Christmas Country Style" The Christmas Touch
1967 "Tommy Jones" Here I Am
"Don't Tell Me It's Raining"
"You're the Reason" 48 The Best of Johnny Tillotson
1968 "I Can Spot a Cheater" 63 Singles only
"Why So Lonely"
"Letter to Emily"
1969 "Tears on My Pillow" 94 Tears on My Pillow
"Joy to the World"
"Raining in My Heart"
1970 "Susan" Singles only
"I Don't Believe in If Anymore"
1971 "Apple Bend" Johnny Tillotson (1970)
"Welfare Hero"
"Make Believe" Singles only
1973 "Your Love's Been a Long Time Comin'"
"If You Wouldn't Be My Lady"A
"I Love How She Needs Me"
1974 "Till I Can't Take It Anymore"
1975 "Mississippi Lady"
"Right Here in Your Arms"
1976 "Summertime Lovin'" Johnny Tillotson (1977)
1977 "Toy Hearts" 99
1979 "Poetry in Motion" (re-issue) / "Princess Princess" 67 Singles only
1984 "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone" 91
  • A"If You Wouldn't Be My Lady" peaked at #77 on the RPM
    RPM (magazine)
    RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

     Country Tracks chart in Canada.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK